The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.
Armstrong, officially the City of Armstrong is a city in the North Okanagan of the Canadian province of British Columbia, between Vernon and Enderby. It overlooks the Spallumcheen Valley, which forms a broad pass between the Okanagan Valley to the south and the Shuswap Country to the north, and is about 480 km (300 mi) from each of Vancouver, B.C. and Spokane, Washington. The town of Armstrong celebrated its centennial in 2013.
Shuswap Lake is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River. It is at the heart of a region known as the Columbia Shuswap or "the Shuswap", noted for its recreational lakeshore communities including the city of Salmon Arm. The name "Shuswap" is derived from the Shuswap or Secwepemc First Nations people, the most northern of the Interior Salish peoples, whose territory includes the Shuswap. The Shuswap call themselves /ʃǝxwépmǝx/ in their own language, which is called /ʃǝxwepmǝxtʃín/.
Shuswap is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
The City of Enderby is in the North Okanagan region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, between Armstrong and Salmon Arm. It is approximately 80 km north of Kelowna and 130 km east of Kamloops. Highway 97A passes through Enderby and the Shuswap River marks the eastern and northeastern limits of the City. There are two major schools in Enderby: M.V. Beattie Elementary School and A.L. Fortune Secondary School. M.V. Beattie Elementary School was rebuilt in 2012.
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the Upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km². The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenai River on the south; their western boundary is the edge of the Interior Plateau. Seventy-five percent of the range is located in Canada and the remaining twenty-five percent in the United States; American geographic classifications place the Columbia Mountains as part of the Rocky Mountains complex, but this designation does not apply in Canada. Mount Sir Sandford is the highest mountain in the range, reaching 3,519 metres (11,545 ft).
The basin of the Shuswap River lies northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, originating in the central Monashee Mountains. It is the upper part of the drainage better known to British Columbians as belonging to Shuswap Lake and the South Thompson River. The river's drainage basin is over 1,969 square kilometres (760 sq mi) in area.
Monkman Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, southwest of Tumbler Ridge and northeast of Hansard. Like Monkman Pass, Monkman Lake, Monkman Creek and Monkman Falls, it was named after Alexander Monkman.
Upper Seymour River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located in an isolated area in the interior of the province, 40 kilometres north of the community of Seymour Arm. It protects at the headwaters of the Seymour River, which is the major drainage system into the Seymour Arm of Shuswap Lake.
Porcupine Meadows Provincial Park is a 2,704 hectare provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located north of Tranquille Lake to the northwest of Kamloops. Its name is a direct translation of the Shuswap word for this area, "pisitsoolsia", named so for the numerous porcupine in the area.
Tsútswecw Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Kamloops and northwest of Salmon Arm. It stretches along the banks of the Adams River, between the south end of Adams Lake and the western portion of Shuswap Lake.
Skookumchuck Rapids Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Shuswap River just below the outlet of Mabel Lake. This park was established as a result of the Okanagan-Shuswap Land and Resource Management Plan.
Stamp River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The 327-hectare park is located 14 km north of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. There are 23 camping spaces and 2 km of trails within the park along the Stamp River, named for Edward Stamp, a sawmill pioneer in the Alberni Valley.
The Okanagan Highland is an elevated hilly plateau area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington. Rounded mountains with elevations up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above sea level and deep, narrow valleys are characteristic of the region.
Mara Lake is a lake in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. To the west is Hyde Mountain and east is Morton Peak. The outlet of the Shuswap River forms the upper reaches. The lower end enters the narrows at Sicamous and flows into Shuswap Lake. The northern end of Mara Lake is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.
Grindrod is an unincorporated community in south central British Columbia, Canada. Concentrated on the western shore of the Shuswap River, the place borders the Shuswap and Okanagan regions. On BC Highway 97A, the locality is by road about 46 kilometres (29 mi) southwest of Sicamous, 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Salmon Arm, and 51 kilometres (32 mi) north of Vernon.
The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) system serves the Okanagan region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its administrative headquarters are in Kelowna. The system covers 59,000 square kilometers of area, and serves 360,000 people through 30 branches. ORL was founded in 1936. In 2013, the library held 3.2 million physical items. The library is largely funded through tax revenues from four administrative areas, the Regional District of North Okanagan, the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. It also receives funding from the provincial and federal governments.
The Anstey River is a 30-kilometre-long (19 mi) river in the Interior region of British Columbia, Canada. It flows roughly north to south from the Monashee range of the Columbia Mountains, and drains into Anstey Arm on Shuswap Lake. The Anstey River drainage covers 24,000 hectares and is uninhabited. The river was named for Francis Senior Anstey, who operated one of the first major logging operations in the area. The lower river and its delta are protected within Anstey Hunakwa Provincial Park.
White Lake Grasslands Protected Area is a conservation site located in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on April 18, 2001 by an order-in-council under the Environment and Land Use Act to protect the semi-arid grassland and pine forest ecosystem west of Vaseux Lake.
